Author skills | Writing prompts
10 Work-Related Writing Prompts
Inspiration by the water cooler.
Hi there, writers! Time for another list of writing prompts.
Prompts can provide both a challenge and a useful constraint, helping you to lose the fear of the blank page, and to get your creative thinking underway.
If you are doing the 💯 Story Challenge, or just want to increase your output of short stories or flash fiction, check out a list with all my prompt articles here.
Idea 1
Introduce a character who has a cult-like obsession with their boss, or another authority figure in their life. They genuinely believe that this person is the messiah. (Prompt repeated from this list).
Idea 2
Describe a job interview that either starts well and ends badly, or vice versa. For added interest, the applicant can be a shockingly bad fit for the role.
Idea 3
Write a scene in an office Christmas party or similar event, where one person is trying their best to network and/or gain a promotion, and everyone else just wants to relax and have fun.
Idea 4
Craft a fictional journal entry for some kind of scientist or explorer. This could have a sci-fi or superhero element if you like.
Idea 5
A workplace is suddenly invaded by pests. Wasps? Rats? Llamas? It’s up to you! Describe how things play out.
Idea 6
Craft a memoir-style flash fiction piece or drabble which involves a visit to a parent’s workplace (or that of a similar carer/family member).
Idea 7
It’s the funeral of a man or woman who worked their whole life for a particular company. Decide what their job was, and then write a conversation at the wake between their closest co-worker and their manager. At least a couple of secrets should come out.
Idea 8
A character wins the lottery (decide how much they get), and spends the next day wrestling with whether they should quit work or not (decide what their day job is). Write a short story about their day.
Idea 9
Write a short story or flash fiction piece entirely in the form of emails between an employee and their boss.
Idea 10
Craft a short story about an adventurer in a fantasy or sci-fi setting who decides to settle down and run a respectable business (an inn or bar? A potion shop?). The trouble is, it’s not long before their past starts to catch up with them.
I hope you found these helpful. And if you can draw on a bit of life experience, so much the better!
I share a list of prompts every week, as well as other pieces about the craft of writing, and occasional short stories and web-novel chapters. Get my articles by email here.
